Beretta/Stoeger Cougar vs CZ 40P

Hey all I hate to do this as I don't always like "X" vs "Y" post, but I really want to know. I have kind of been out of the hand gun loop for several years due to financial restraints...and nearly all my firearms went by the wayside. I am now getting back into it and have come across a couple that I feel are real bargains not just in price. To be clear, I'm also not trying to start a pissing match between any one and post it here in the hopes of honest feed back from folks that have experience with both, what they like and why and finally, what their recommendation is. Here are the two options I have narrowed down for my next purchase. Both have good reputations and each of their respective owners seem fairly loyal.

I can get a Beretta/Stoeger Cougar in 40S&W or 9mm for $329+$24 tax locally

I can get a CZ 40P for $310 delivered and transfered via Buds.

I have handled and enjoyed the feel/fit/finish of both...but have not fired either of them yet.

A bit about my background. I am a huge fan of CZ's in general and have more than a dozen rifles in CZ/Brno. In hand guns I have also owned Berettas and Taurus counterparts and loved them due to how they fit and reliability. I have also owned a couple of CZ's but at the time went with the former due to the SS finish and feel they were just as reliable. Not hung up on SS now. I also owned an Astra A-100 years ago in 40 that I absolutely loved. (Some what of a Sig copy) All four of these style guns felt balanced and fit my hands.

Use: This is meant to be just a general home defense hand gun with regular shooting sessions and general carry. One plus I have heard on the Cougars is due to the rotating barrel the recoil is lessend...not totally critical to me but maybe for the enjoyment of it's use to my wife. Like the tactical abilities of the CZ 40P...and the fact that it is a CZ. This purchase is not meant to be a end all gun as I will add more later but more of a new starting point in regard to handguns. Okay...what say you?

The Cougar is a very nice gun. The trigger might be better than the CZ. But, I didn't keep my Cougar in the 1990s because it was a sub 4" barrel. The shorter sight radius didn't work for me - I generally don't like sub 4" guns at the range.

Apples and Oranges

I own both a CZ 40 P and a Beretta Cougar 8040D. I deliberately chose to go with the D after having shot my 8000F - L (+G mod) and my Beretta 96 D.

Is one of these guns "better" than the other? No, not really.

I can understand someone who feels they will only have one wanting to obtain the better of the two. It's natural.

It is not, however, useful to say which of these fine handgun designs is "better".

In terms of size the 8040 is shorter in sight radius but on the range I haven't seen that as a serious handicap for anything other than bullseye shooting. At 25 feet or less there isn't enough difference in the two sizes to matter.

An 8040F can have a G mod done, as can a PX4F. This makes them equivalent to the 40 P which has a decocker.

Let me state that I don't like the standard Beretta safety. A safety that has to be rotated up as opposed to down. Smith & Wesson and Ruger also went in that direction. I therefore opt for either decocker only or double action only variations on pistols from these makers. That's my choice that I made after it was pointed out to me how my (then) Beretta 92 FS operated the opposite way from my TZ 75 (the only 2 centerfire pistols I owned, at that time).

My feeling for a person who will only have one of these two excellent pistols is to get to borrow examples of both and see how they feel. See how they shoot for you. While Stoeger is turning out very affordable new Cougars there are still plenty of used Cougars out there. You can sometimes (as did I) find one for sale that never left the gun shop before. You can get an F and do a G mod or get a D or stick with an F if you are already trained to swing your safety up instead of down.

I own a 40-P and have shot a Cougar several times. FWIW, both are very nice guns and real bargains compaired to their brothers at either company. As for price, the 40P is currently selling for about $300-$340 around here (paid $289 for mine 18 months ago) while the only Cougar I've seen was about $400. I didn't have both guns together for a side by side review, so any comments comparing the two guns in any specific way are more from impression than actual measurement.

From my experience, the 40P seems slightly larger - though I think the grip/mag well may be shorter? - with a longer barrel/slide, has a rail for accessories, better sights and can use the 40P or 75 compact magazines. The 40P is also less expensive than the Cougar and came with two magazines, snap caps and a cleaning kit (don't know about the Cougar).

As for the Cougar, it feels more like a compact SIG. While a bit "blocky" in design compared to the CZ, it may be a bit easier to conceal due to the overall design. The Cougar has an ambidextrous safety (the CZ doesn't) which is a plus for lefty's and the Cougar is available in 9mm if you prefer that caliber. That's the caliber of the gun I shot and I believe it held 15 rounds. You'd have to buy a P-01 to get a gun similar to the 40P if you want a CZ in 9mm. I also found the Cougar to be easier and quicker to break down/field strip for cleaning than the CZ.

That being said, either gun would be an excellent addition to any collection, are close enough in price that it shouldn't matter much and both are very well made, reliable weapons at a bargain price. For a home defense or range gun, I'd probably go with the CZ, but for a carry or self-defense pistol, I might just decide on the Cougar. It all boils down to personal preference and intended use and I'd be happy with either.

I totally agree with Rachilders concerning the Beretta safety. If you want to get the safety off fast and still acquire the target, the up motion of the Beretta safety just doesn't work for me. I also much prefer frame mounted as opposed to slide mounted safeties because it is so much easier to disengage the safety with my thumb while I am acquiring the target. For that reason alone, I would prefer the CZ since in most other respects the guns are comparable in quality. As an added consideration for me is that the CZ full size guns fit my hand better than any gun I have picked up. Even my favorite gunsmith in Iowa, who has been working on guns for 40 years and loves 1911s admits the CZ has the best egronomics of any pistol he has tried in his life. Caveat - we both have large hands.